China, Russia agree to integrate Belt initiative with EAEU construction

MOSCOW, May 8 -- China and Russia agreed here Friday to integrate the former's Silk Road Economic Belt initiative with the latter's aspiration under the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) framework.

The pledge was made in a joint statement signed by visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, after their talks.

According to the document, China supports Russia promoting regional integration within the EAEU framework and agrees to launch talks with the EAEU on an economic and trade cooperation deal.

In the document, the two sides vowed to discuss the docking of the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative and the EAEU construction, saying that they agreed to set up a dialogue mechanism for the integration.

They pledged to maintain a continuous and stable economic growth in the region, strengthen regional economic integration, and safeguard peace and stability on the Eurasian landmass.

The two countries also listed out eight measures that could help boost regional cooperation:

-- to expand investment and trade cooperation, optimize trade structure and cultivate new growth points for economy and employment.

-- to facilitate mutual investment, launch major investment cooperation projects and jointly build industrial parks and cross-border economic cooperation zones.

-- to enhance the interconnection in logistics and transportation, and work together on infrastructure construction projects.

-- to set up trade-facilitating mechanisms in ripe areas, formulate common policies in fields of common interests, and study the long-term objective of establishing a free trade zone between China and the EAEU.

-- to create a better environment for medium- and small-sized enterprises that can play an important role in boosting regional economic cooperation.

-- to promote the local-currency settlement in bilateral trade and deepen cooperation in export credit, insurance and trade financing among many other fields.

-- to enhance financial cooperation through the Silk Road Fund and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

-- to advance regional and global multilateral cooperation and expand international trade.

Xi arrived in Moscow on Friday for a visit to Russia, where he is scheduled to attend a series of events to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Great Patriotic War.